Queer Eye

QE is an interesting and markedly different way of looking at the Reality and Makeover subgenre.

The so-called 'victims' appearing in QEFTSG appear willingly, and despite being harangued in a playful manner over their cleanliness, fashion sense and the contents of their fridge, they emerge from this show as more confident and more mature people. This is a show with lasting effects, not just for the wardrobe and the home, but for the lifestyle.

The Fab Five are not about tearing a person's confidence to shreds and dressing them like a doll, as we have seen in some of the lesser makeover shows (What Not To Wear, Extreme Makeovers). The subjects are listened to, they are counselled and delivered back to their partners and friends as better versions of themselves. No more bad haircut, no more dangerous living conditions. Think of the difference between wearing makeup and wearing a mask. This is the difference between QE and other makeover shows.

Thom Filicia in particular, handles the design of the subjects home in a way that no other reality show decorator does. His designs, furniture and decor choices reflect the person living in them. He extols the virtues of using your living space as you want to use it. Don't eat at the the table? Then don't have a dining room. Use the computer a lot? Put it in the lounge. And always, put your personality and your own stamp on the rooms. Watch Thom work a room, and you will forever see Changing Rooms and other interior makeovers as severely lacking.

QE never has one of those awkward 'reveal' moments where you can tell that someone hates what the makeover team have done. They are roundly thanked, sometimes tearfully, by the straight men they transform from ugly ducklings to 21st century swans. I have yet to see one person show any distaste at the changes made to their life. The response is always, as it should be. A heartfelt 'thankyou'.

"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is the best show on TV! Why? It's simple: imagine five great people who had never known you before, going to your house and changing you from hair to toe! That's exactly what Ted, Thom, Kyan, Carson and Jai do for all the straight guys that come in their ways! Ted (VERY handsome, funny and an excellent cooker!) teaches a guy how to do great things in the kitchen, from complicated fishes and wine qualities to quick drinks and simple food; Thom has an excellent taste and he makes any place, doesn't matter how hideous it might be!, look amazing and sophisticated; Kyan transforms a guy's looks by only giving him a haircut or teaching him how to shave his beard without slitting his throat!; Carson is just amazing, his sense of humour captures everything and his taste on clothing is terrific and very ellegant; and Jai is such a sweet person, and he teaches the guy how to behave either if he's alone with a girl or in front of a huge audience - he's definatelly a 'culture expert'! By saying all this, I can only tell that "Queer Eye for The Straight Guy" is a very funny show, but it's also a very good tool for all of us to know that everybody has flaws, but they can be successfully fixed whenever you decide to - or when the Fab5 knocks at your door! In only one word, this show is... AWESOME!

...Should be the theme for the show. Well, it is. But it's true. The show warms the heart while updating the clothes, and is one of the most entertaining things on television.

Makeover shows are a popular necessity to TV these days. We love em. From house and garden makeovers, to "The Swan" (I love CSI, but that one, I must admit, grosses me out), "What Not to Wear", even Oprah or, my other favorite, "Second Chance". Queer Eye For the Straight Guy offers an ingenious combo, gay men making over often very slobby straight men. Make it hip, cool, fun. Presto, mega hit. But the show goes further than other makeover shows because it really offers something to the viewer. It tells you HOW to look better the way Bob Vila shows you how to build a house, as opposed to whisking someone backstage and back out a different person. And above all, it gives you a real sense that you can change your life by throwing out the old and bringing in the new, having a positive outlook. Life detox, and all with a real human connection.

The show, which has 5 gay mavens driving all over uber cool parts of New York City and each being oracles of stylistic expertise, turning the often dowdy everyman into a Adonis of personal style. The makeovers are extensive and delightfully enjoyable to watch. We see a big transformation, blueprints and details, all laced through the roof with spontaneity and hilarity from 5 very, very, very funny and warmhearted men, aka the Fab Five - Carson Kressley for clothes, Kyan Douglas for grooming, Ted Allen for food, Thom Filicia for house and home, and Jai Rodriguez for culture. They're all experts and they all milk amazing end results. Every new guy has a new recipe that had thought and attention put into it, unlike some shows which just do the same thing to everyone, and we're brought through the whole process. Each of the gurus walk the participant through the makeover, usually with fairly easy instructions and give them tasks they have to do themselves. The majority of the time it looks like a bona fide style miracle took place. Darned fun stuff.

But I think the magic of QEftSG is that 90% of the time, the main thing the straight guys get out of the experience is a life makeover with the belief that anything can happen in their future. The outward change manifests an inner spring cleaning. Over and over these guys, by the end of the show, have a renewed self esteem and vitality for life instead of wallowing in the doldrums of everyday existence...which is something a lot of us can relate to and hope we can take initiative from. The Fab Five are sort of like a group of superheroes, running around to help those in need of couture and general rejuvenation.

Other than our collective addiction to "the makeover", the fact that this show does makeovers much the better than the rest with flourish and warmth and style up the wazoo, and the often hilarious nature of the show -- the joy and emotion often beaming off the participants faces and the genuine compassion and dedication the Fab Five shows to each of the straight guys is, I think, what keeps people coming back every week.

. . .as the FAB 5 prove.

What a great show! The five guys who do the "make-overs" should prove to the rest of America (the right-wingers, religious-right-ers, ex-gays', et al) that we're not perverts and bitchy queens--well, maybe some of are queens, but we're not all bitchy.

The 5 show great care and affection for their "victims," and I don't mean that they want to take them to bed. The only concern is to make the makeover guy happy and successful.

Thanks, Bravo, for this ground-breaking new "reality" show.

Okay...

Here's the deal. I'm a hetero guy, but I gotta admit, I love this show. Yeah, stereotypes are flying around everywhere, but that's the premise of the show. And yeah, they blow a lot of cash, but why not? I mean, the object is to get the girl, and if you blow some money at first you'll reap the rewards later. Personally, I wish they did a Canadian special so I could apply for them to make me over. If they did, I'd get so much tail after that I'd go insane... Keep it up guys....